


beauty, beholder

by withoutwords



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Humour, M/M, Mostly Fluff, POV Alternating, POV Outsider, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 18:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20916302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withoutwords/pseuds/withoutwords
Summary: The sight of them kissing still clutches at her chest, like all her gasps and words are trapped. She can’t believe Ben is so openly gentle with any one but his daughter - she can’t believe he is finally getting the love he deserves.





	beauty, beholder

**Author's Note:**

> For a prompt that was sent to me at Tumblr: Five times they didn't mean for people to see them being affectionate/soft and one time they did?

Jay’s so busy flipping through paperwork and muttering angrily to himself that he almost doesn’t realise Ben’s out in the front room - stopping just shy of his office door so he doesn’t intrude on him and Callum.

“You’re alright,” Ben’s saying quietly, digging thumbs and fingers into Callum’s shoulders. Callum has his head hung.

“I can’t do it.”

“Course you can.”

Callum scoffs. “Easy for you to say.”

“Not really,” Ben replies, still massaging at Callum’s shoulders. On any other day, Jay might go out there and ask Ben if he forgot where he actually works. But this seems serious enough for him to pull back. “Spent a lot of time being afraid of him too.”

Jay falters. Afraid?

“Oh, great. That makes me feel better. Thanks.”

Ben moves to sit on Callum’s desk, so Jay steps sideways and hopes he isn’t seen. He’s not usually the sort of guy that lingers around to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but it’s his brother and his friend. He worries.

“Trust me,” Ben’s saying, now grasping at Callum’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine. I mean, I’m pretty sure he ain’t gonna make any awkward announcements with you there so…”

“Ben!”

“It’s just dinner with my dad’s family. It ain’t The Last Supper.”

“It might be.”

Jay shakes his head to himself - he should have guessed. Callum was afraid of Phil. Which is saying something, since his brother is Stuart and Ben’s had to have one too many run ins with him.

“You saved my life. Can’t do much more than that to get on Phil Mitchell’s good side. Besides saving Lou’s.”

“What, before tonight?”

Ben laughs, and Jay watches as he leans in to kiss Callum gently. He’s walked in on their make out sessions more than he’d ever care to remember - but this isn’t one of them. It’s intimate, and meaningful, and they just look at each other for a long moment as Jay sees the tensions slowly slide out of Callum’s shoulders.

It makes Jay smile. He hoped for a long time that Ben would find someone like Callum. To match him and challenge him and care about him properly.

“It’ll be fine,” Ben says like a promise, before pulling at Callum’s tie teasingly and jumping off the desk. “And if it ain’t, we can go get hammered at the Albert after.”

Callum picks up a folder to start slapping Ben with it, chasing him out of the parlour.

Jay waits until they’re gone and finally heads out.

He should have a word with Phil.

*

It’s been a long night, and Kathy is almost prepared to close the bar three hours early and go home to bed. But they’ve got a bucks night, and a birthday party, and if they can keep going like this they might meet their targets a lot sooner than they’d predicted.

She’s stressed out but she’s doing well.

“Take a breather,” Tina calls to her, apparently well aware that Kathy’s struggling. “Me and Mel’ve got this for now, go get some air.”

She doesn’t bother to argue.

It’s shoulder to shoulder all the way there - she plasters on a smile and joins in with the hollering and almost walks straight into a six-foot-something shirtless man who looks like he bathed in glitter.

She goes sideways to avoid it - glitter is impossible to get rid of, she learnt that from Lexi - and barrels out the door and into the cold air. It’s busy out here, too, but she manages to go around the crowds and find a spot to sit.

She breathes.

“You ever think about that night?” she hears a familiar voice say from somewhere behind her, turning to realise Callum and Ben are just across the way and covered in shadows. She’d call out to them, but they’re huddled so close she might be intruding.

“Not really.”

“I do.”

“Why? S’not your fault.”

Callum makes a spluttering sound, but he’s not laughing. “Seriously? If I didn’t tell him he wouldn’t have hurt you. You would’ve been here, with me and … you would’ve been safe.”

“It was a long time ago. It’s done now.”

“Maybe.”

“Hey.” Kathy can see Ben pull Callum in by the lapels. His voice is low and serious and it makes her chest ache a little. She doesn’t know when her baby boy became the fighter, the protector - but she’s glad it’s for so many good reasons these days. “You ain’t your dad, or ya brother. You don’t hurt people. That’s not you.”

“Sometimes it feels like that’s all I ever did. Chris. Whit. You.”

“No,” Ben says, firmer now. “You wanted to be everything, to be perfect, but you ain’t, you can’t be. And I know ya starting to see that. I know you’re starting to see that people like ya just as you are. Yeah? Yeah?”

“Yeah. Course.”

“C’mere.” Ben pulls Callum in again, but this time in a hug. Kathy doesn’t realise she has a tear until it has run down her chin, using a hand to wipe at her face.

When she heads back in to work, she feels a little lighter.

It’s a beautiful night and this is a beautiful place and if just one person leaves feeling the littlest bit prouder, well.

It makes it all so, so worth it.

  
*

There’s been a huge rush order on a new range of her dresses, so Whit’s had to call in Tiff to give her a hand boxing them all up. It wasn’t her best idea, if she’s honest, because not only is Tiff angry that she isn’t with Keegan she’s also got no idea what she’s doing.

“Fold at the middle, Tiff,” Whit yells at her, shaking one of the dresses to make her see. “The middle!”

“That is the middle!”

“It ain’t, we can both clearly see it ain’t.”l.; /;

“Well apparently only one of us can _clearly see_, because that _is_ the middle!”

Whit throws the dress down and growls, announcing that she needs a coffee and stomping off. She’ll grab one for Tiff, too, because she’s soft, and because it’s not her fault Whit is trying to get everything done so perfectly. It’s a massive sale - it could do great things for the business.

“No!”

Whit sees them before she hears them - Callum leant against a corner wall and grinning at Ben like he’s just told a good joke. She’ll believe that when she sees it.

“It’s true. Pool, spa, the works.”

“What for? You trying to butter me up or somethin’?”

“Oh, you know it.”

It still hurts to see him like this. It hurts to realise that he’s a lot calmer, and more confident, and sure. He’ll always be Callum HIghway the big, friendly giant - but he’s changed. For the better.

And it hurts that she couldn’t be part of that. Not the way she wanted.

But the ache dulls over time.

“Seriously, Ben, you don’t gotta do this.”

“I want to. We’re always at mum’s or around Stuart or with Jay and Lola … if we go away it can be just us, yeah? Don’t you want that?”

“You know I do.”

“Come on then.” Whit can’t see Ben’s face but she’s sure he’s smirking at Callum as he steps closer in. Using that old Mitchell charm. “Let’s do it.”

Callum’s arms swing low around Ben’s back and she almost recognises the look in his eyes. Again, it’s different - but she knows he cared for her in his own way. She knows it was real and important.

This is important too.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. You’re right. It’ll be good to get away from Walford. Everyone staring at us.”

Ben laughs and the sound shocks Whit a little. It’s so soft and real, she’s sure she’s never heard it before. “Only ‘cause we’re so good looking.”

“Yeah, right, course,” Callum is saying, still grinning when he presses his mouth against Ben’s.

She turns away to leave them in peace.

Ben Mitchell would never be her first choice for Callum, but it’s not up to her now.

He’s living his own life at last.

She trusts him.

*

The upstairs toilet is backed up and Mick’s forced to use one of the public stalls in the pub. With Linda off at appointments with Ollie, and Sharon disappearing for what he expects is a lunch date - Mick hasn’t got time to do anything about it.

Besides, he runs a clean establishment. It’s not a problem.

“No, no, don’t follow me,” Mick hears Ben holler as the bathroom door slams open. “I got a bad history with your lot in here.”

“Oh, shut up,” Halfway says too, their footsteps shuffling in.

Mick zips up and gets ready to jump out at them, but he hears the distinct sound of someone going thump against the wall and then. Jesus. Obviously they’re kissing.

Jesus. It’s too early for this.

“Seriously, though, I ain’t doing this here,” Ben says, sounding a little breathless.

“You used to try it on all the time!”

“That was before I could have you in bed.”

Mick buries his face in his hands and tries not to groan. Halfway’s like a son to him, he doesn't need to know about his sex life. He still tries to tell himself his kids only hold their partners hands.

It’s working out well for him so far.

“Let’s go do that, then.”

“I thought you had to be back at work?”

“Jay can wait.”

Ben laughs, and it almost makes Mick smile. “Wow, check out Mr. Authority over here.”

“C’mon, it won’t take long.”

“Oh, right, a quickie. I feel so special.”

There’s a heavy silence again which Mick assumes is more kissing and he swears on his pub that if there is any funny business he’s going to disown Halfway and burn the place down.

“I want you,” Callum says in a low, raspy voice that Mick is sure he never used on Whitney. As much as he wants to bury himself in the ground, Mick can’t help but feel glad that Callum is obviously embracing his sexuality now. That he isn’t denying himself what he wants. That he’s enjoying it.

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“You’re such a wind up, c’mon,” Callum is saying around a laugh, feet shuffling again.

“I haven’t even taken a waz yet!” Ben protests but the door slams open and shut and there’s silence.

When Mick finally gets out of his stall, he’s careful what he touches.

He runs a clean establishment, but he’s also surrounded by lovesick horndogs.

He’s getting the mop and bucket.

  
*

Lola’s running late to pick up Lexi, and she can just hear Ben’s smug little digs about being responsible and having other commitments - and basically throwing all of her own words back at her. Since he got with Callum he’s been a lot more easygoing, but still.

He’s still Ben Mitchell.

_two minutes away_ she texts him as she heads for the park, and is surprised that he doesn’t message her straight back. In fact he doesn’t message back at all, and when she gets there she realises why.

Callum’s there, and they’re huddled together on the bench while Lexi plays with another kid on the swings.

“It changed me, y’know,” Lola hears Ben says as she creeps up behind them. She’s got a teasing comment ready, something about who’s looking after her daughter right now - but she probably won’t use it with poor Callum.

He’d be an apologetic mess.

“What d’ya mean?”

“I donno. It was the first time since Paul that I wanted someone more than something.”

Lola stops. Ben’s voice is soft, and breaking a little - and she knows it would be a really bad time to interrupt. “You liked me that much?”

“Course I did.”

“I thought maybe you was just trying to prove something.”

“No. I tried to tell myself that’s what it was, but. No.”

“Wow. I mean I know you liked me, I guess I just …”

Ben huffs, and Lola sees his head dip a little, resting on Callum’s shoulder. “I know it weren’t like that for you.”

“I liked you!”

“Sure you did.”

“I _did_. I liked how cocky you were, and how funny. I kept thinking about how nice it would be to be so sure of myself.”

“Is this supposed to be a compliment?”

Callum laughs and pushes at Ben, Lola just getting a glimpse of the flush of his cheeks. “And I thought you was one of the best looking blokes I’d ever seen.”

“Oh no! You didn’t have a chance!”

The sight of them kissing still clutches at her chest, like all her gasps and words are trapped. She can’t believe Ben is so openly gentle with any one but his daughter - she can’t believe he is finally getting the love he deserves.

“You think Lola would be happy for us to have Lexi for dinner? Maybe with Lola and Jay?”

“That sounds good. I’ll message her.”

Lola disappears back around the corner and waits for Ben’s message.

It will be a good reason to explain the big smile on her face.

*

They closed up the cafe early and put together two long tables for a dinner party. Ben had spent a week trying to explain to twenty-plus people that he just wanted to do something nice for everyone - work was going well, him and Callum were living together now, and the family had managed at least a few months without any life threatening drama.

No one had really believed him.

“Well?” he mutters into Callum’s ear once everyone had finished their dinner. His mum had helped put on an amazing spread of roast meats and vegetables and more sides than Ben could count. Everyone was full, the adults were tipsy.

It was a good night.

“What, now?” Callum says, a little shocked, his ears already starting to turn red. Ben can’t help but laugh. He knew he’d be like this.

“It’s what we’re here for, yeah?”

“Yeah, course.”

They both grab their glasses to stand at the end of the tables, Ben catching Lola’s eye to give her a nod. She taps her knife against a glass, calling out for everyone to be quiet.

Callum grabs Ben’s hand, tangling their fingers.

“Well, uh, first we just wanna say thanks to everyone for coming,” Ben says, tipping his glass at them. He sees his mum’s hand fly up to her mouth like she’s realising something’s about to happen. “Me and Callum didn’t just bring you here to have dinner together. We also have something we want to tell ya.”

“You’re pregnant!” Jay shouts, Lola punching him while everyone else laughs.

“No, nope, that’s just the food.”

“Mean,” Callum says, grinning, rubbing Ben’s belly. “Don’t listen to ‘im.”

“What we want to tell you,” Ben pushes on, meeting Callum’s eye and the two of them sharing a smile. It seems silly now - keeping it a secret for so long - but they had just wanted it to be theirs for just a little while. The one thing in their relationship that wasn’t public property from day one.

“I asked Callum to marry me,” Ben says, letting Callum finish,

“And I said yes.”

There’s hooting and applause, Ben can hear it, but he’s not paying much attention as Callum pulls him in for a sweet, pressing kiss that seems to go on forever.

Every part of Ben bleeds joy - he can barely keep his feet on the ground.

“Three cheers to the happy couple!” someone calls, the party raising their glasses and Ben and Callum doing the same.

“Hip, hip, hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”

Callum wraps an arm around Ben’s shoulders and tucks him in close as they both have a drink.

There’s noise and cheering and laughing and tears.

Ben’s heart is full.

“I love you.”


End file.
